Machinery for the manufacture of roving for spinning purposes



(N0 Model.)

A. T. ATHERTON.

MACHINERY FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF ROVING FOR SPINNING PURPOSES.

Patented Jan. 20, 1885.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ABEL T. ATHERTON, OF LOVELL, MASSACHUSETTS.

MACHINERY FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF ROVING FOR SPINNING PURPOSES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 311,096, dated January20, 1885.

Application filed December 18, 1853.

T0 ctZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it kn wn that I, ABEL T. ATHER'ION, of Lowell, Middlescx county,State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Machinery for the Manufae ture of Roving for SpinningPurposes, of which the following is a specification.

In the manufacture of roving it has heretofore been proposed to make useof two sets of drawing-rolls, the one set revolving considerably fasterthan the other, so that the sliver or roving should be drawn during itstransit from the one set of rolls to the next set. was not well adaptedto the making of cotton roving, which has a short fiber; and even in thecase of flax, wool, and the like it was nee essary to provide betweenthe two sets of rolls a twister, in order to give the roving sufficientcoherency while undergoing thedrawing operation. The more customary andbetter way, however, of making cotton roving was to draw the sliver insuccessive sets of drawing-rolls in contradistinction to drawing itbetween two successive sets of rolls, as contemplated by the methodfirst above referred to. In doing this, however, it was desirable to usemeans for compacting the sliver as it passed from one set of rolls tothe next, and these means, when used, consisted, until comparativelyrecently, of stationary tapering or funnel-like troughs or tubes,through which the sliver passed on its way from one set of rolls to thenext.- The method last advertcd to was accompanied by certaindifficulties and disadvantages, to remove which machinery was devised tooperate on the plan disclosed in Kelleys Patent N 0.

250,043, dated November 22, 1881, the same being characterized mainly bythe combination, with two sets of drawing-rolls, of an intermediaterotating condenser, which acts to compact and condense withoutpermanently twisting the sliver as it passes from one set of rolls tothe other. The special form of con denser shown in said patent, whichmay be generally described as a tube provided with a spiral bore ofsubstantially cylindrical crosssection, possesses certain disadvantagesof construction, which have, to a considerable extent, been obviated bycombining with the outer tube or shell of the condenser an inner tube,which is cast with a spiral bore, as set out in my Patent No. 261, 294,dated July 18,

This method {No model.)

1882. This plan, however, I have found open to some objection, for thereason that, owing to the chilling of the metal in the operation ofcasting, and to other causes, it is difficult at all times to obtain aspiral bore with smooth, unbroken walls, and also for the reason thatthe operation of withdrawing the core is a delicate one and attendedwith considerable trouble. Furthermore, in order to compact and condensethe sliver to the requisite extent, I have found it desirable to act onit more positively than can well be done with the spirally-boredcondenser.

To obviate the disadvantages hereinbefore recited, and to attain theresults I have in view, I have devised a tubular rotating condenser inwhich the condensing action is effected, not through the instrumentalityof a continuous spiral bore, but by means of lateral openings or eyes 7in the condenser, through which the sliver is threaded, or caused topass. These openings or eyes are of course formed in the condenser atpoints intermedi ate between its rear and nozzle ends, and I find inpractice that two of them will answer the purpose. The sliver, whichenters thecondenser at the rear, passes out through the first lateralopening or eye that it reaches, then back into the condenser again,through the second eye or opening, and thence out through the nozzle inthe usual way. Thus the sliver, at a point intermediate between the endsof the condenser, is deflected or bent to one side of the axis ofrotation of the latter. The re sult is that when the condenser is inrotation the sliver is in a certain sense positively con densed andcompacted, and this without having any permanent twist imparted to it,ex perience having demonstrated that in the practical use of myinvention the sliver that is between the front drawing-rolls (which takeit directly from the nozzle of the condenser) has its fibers untwistedand substantially parallel with one another. An incidental advan' tageof this construction is that by putting the second a or return eye or,opening in the nozzle I can bring the point where the sliver is in mostcompact and condensed condition Very near to the drawing-rolls whichtake the sliver from the condenser, considerably nearer than ispracticable with the other form of condenser above referred to, in whichthe spiral condensingbore necessarily stops short I stands, andmechanism for operating the same of the nozzle, and thus gives thesliver more opportunity to loosen before reaching the rolls.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is aplan of the condenser. Fig. 2is a longitudinalcentral section of the same, together with itssupporting-stand. Fig. 3 is a plan of so much of a roving-machinecontaining my improvement as needed for the purpose of explanation.

The condenser consists of a metallic tube, G, having a tapering nozzle,6. This tube may, if desired, be bored out continuously from end to end,although in practice this will not be needed, inasmuch as the metal canbe left at the point as, where the sliver passes on the outside of thecondenser.

The lateral eyes or openings hereinbefore referred to are shown at m n,the former leading from the main bore of the condenser to the outside,and the latter leading from the outside back into the nozzle The sliverenters the rear of the condenser, passes out through the opening m,thence along the outside of the condenser until itreaches the front eyeor opening, n, through which it passes back into the condenser, fromwhose nozzle, 0, it is delivered to the front drawing-rolls in the usualway. All parts of the condenser with which the sliver is brought intocontact should have smooth, unbroken surfaces without sharp edges orabrupt angles. The course of the sliver is indicated by the dotted linein Fig. 2. The condenser is provided with a spiral or worm gear, (1,and, as seen in Fig. 2, is mounted in a stand of the kind shown in theKelley Patent No. 250,043.

In Fig. 3 I have represented my condensers arranged between two sets ofdrawing-rolls, in the manner represented in said Patent No. 250,043. Thedrawing rolls, the condenserare the same as shown in Fig. 3 of saidpatent, and bear the same letters of reference. It is unnecessary,therefore, to describe them here in detail. In my improved condenser thefront eye, a, can, as seen, be brought very close to the point where thesliver emerges from the nozzle, and in this way I can, as hereinbeforeexplained, deliver the sliver to the front set of drawing-rolls in muchmore compact and condensed condition than heretofore has beenpracticable. Inasmuch as the sliver operated on by the condenser is heldby drawing-rolls both behind and in front of the condenser, the lattercannot operate to give it a permanent twist. In practice whatever slighttwist may be apparent in the sliver disappears as or just before thelatter enters between the front drawing-rolls.

Having described my improvement and the best way known to me of carryingthe same into practical effect, what I claim as new and of my owninvention is as follows:

The combination, with the two sets of drawing-rolls in which the sliveris successively drawn, of an intermediate tubular rotating condenserhaving its delivery-nozzle in close proximity to the forward set ofdrawingrolls, and provided with lateral openings or eyes through whichthe sliver passes in a tortuous path on its way from the rear to thenozzle of the condenser, as and for the purposes hereinbefore set forth.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand, in the presence of twosubscribing witnesses, this 11th day of December, 1883.

. ABEL T. ATHERTON.

lVitncsses:

M. BAILEY, G. P. WALKER.

